2012-2013 Cultural Arts Calendar

McKissick Museum

McKissick Museum exhibitions are free and open to the public. The museum, in the College of Arts and Sciences, is on the historic Horseshoe and is open from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The museum is closed Sundays and holidays. For more information, call 803-777-7251, or visit the museum’s website: www.cas.sc.edu/MCKS/.

Exhibits on permanent display:

Bernard Baruch Silver Collection. A collection of the Baruch family silver. First floor.

“Natural Curiosity: USC and the Evolution of Scientific Inquiry into the Natural World.” Opened in fall 2007, the exhibit explores man’s relationship with the natural world and features more than 1,000 specimens gathered during the university’s history.

Exhibitions:

Aug. 11 – Dec. 14 --- Get Cocky! Students and fans of Gamecock athletics. North Gallery.

The University of South Carolina’s long athletic tradition began with intramural sports while it was South Carolina College. Baseball and football became intercollegiate sports in the 1890s. More than a century later, these programs continue to hold the attention of the South Carolina community – especially those who call themselves Gamecocks.

Have you have ever wondered how the car you drive, the flowers you grow or the chocolate you eat are made? The exhibit, “The Ultimate Vacation: Watching Other People Work” will answer all those questions when McKissick Museum hosts the show co-curated by USC public history graduate students and faculty. “The Ultimate Vacation” explores the history of factory tours in America. It focuses on the food, mail order and automotive industries. The exhibit shows the widespread popularity of industrial tourism from the 1890’s to the present and challenges visitors to think about how consumer goods are manufactured, how business practices change over time, and why tourists enjoy watching other people work. The BMW plant in Spartanburg, S.C., is one of the companies featured in the exhibit along with the South Carolina-based Park Seed. National companies such as Hershey’s, Sears & Roebuck and Heinz make up a portion of the exhibit.

Jan. 21 – May 17 --- “Dawn of Freedom: The Freedmen’s Town of Mitchelville.” North Gallery

The sound of gunfire in Port Royal Bay on Nov. 7, 1861, signaled to area slaves the coming of the Union army and the end of slavery. The exhibition “Dawn of Freedom: The Freedmen’s Town of Mitchelville” explores the transition from slavery to freedom for those slaves who escaped to Hilton Head Island following the battle. It focuses on Mitchelville, a town of contrabands, as the government labeled escaped slaves, on the northeastern end of the island. Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel, who oversaw the town’s creation, wanted its residents to transition into freedom through economic and political autonomy. Its residents voted, won mandatory education for children, owned homes, shopped in local stores and took the first steps toward full citizenship. At its height in 1865 Mitchelville had almost 3,000 residents. Although the town no longer exists, Hilton Head Island community members are creating a park on the site to educate the public about the first self-governing town of freed men in America. The exhibition examines the foundations of Mitchelville, the lives of its residents, and its legacy while also showcasing the unique culture of Sea island slaves and their Gullah traditions. “Dawn of Freedom”is a collaboration of McKissick Museum, graduate student JoAnn Zeise of the public history department, with assistance from the USC Institute for African American Research and the Mitchelville Preservation Project.

Jan. 19 – May 11 --- “Step Right Up! Sideshows in American Culture.” South Gallery

“Step Right Up! Sideshows in American Culture” will celebrate Rebecca Davenport, a South Carolina artist, and place her work in the larger context of carnival culture through an exploration of the sideshow as cultural phenomenon during the late 19th century and continuing through the 21st century. “Step Right Up!” will use her carnival series as the anchor for a discussion about the sideshow in American culture. Several key themes will be addressed, including the dynamic nature of sideshow culture, the exploration of the concept of “the other,” the folk language of the “carny,” the public perception of showmanship, curiosity and exploitation and sideshows in the South and their relationship to medicine shows. The exhibit will feature original works by Davenport in addition to a variety of banners, heralds, and trade cards from the heyday of the American sideshow. A lecture/performance series will feature scholars recognized for their research in the area of sideshows and freak culture.

Nov. 9 --- Homecoming parade. Stop by the Museum following the parade for a tour of Get Cocky and light refreshments.

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McMaster Gallery

McMaster Gallery is in the Department of Art in the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of South Carolina. McMaster Gallery is at 1615 Senate St., Columbia. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays, closed weekends and all university holidays. For more information contact: Mana Hewitt, gallery director, 803-777-7480 or email: mana@sc.edu.